\chapter{Review of the silicon carbon compound}

\section{Properties and applications of silicon carbide}

The stoichiometric composition of silicon and carbon termed silicon carbide (SiC) is the only chemical stable compound in the C/Si system \cite{}.
SiC was first discovered by Henri Moissan in 1893 when he observed brilliant sparkling crystals while examining rock samples from a meteor crater in Arizona.
He mistakenly identified these crystals as diamond.
Although they might have been considered \glqq diamonds from space\grqq{} Moissan identified them as SiC in 1904 \cite{moissan04}.
In mineralogy SiC is still referred to as moissanite in honor of its discoverer.
It is extremely rare and almost impossible to find in nature.

\subsection{SiC polytypes}

Each of the four sp$^3$ hybridized orbitals of the Si atom overlaps with one of the four sp$^3$ hybridized orbitals of the four surrounding C atoms and vice versa.
This results in fourfold coordinated covalent $\sigma$ bonds of equal length and strength for each atom with its neighbours.

Although the local order of Si and C next neighbour atoms characterized by the tetrahedral bonding is the same, more than 250 different types of structures called polytypes of SiC exist \cite{fischer90}.
The polytypes differ in the one-dimensional stacking sequence of identical, closed-packed SiC bilayers.

\section{Fabrication of silicon carbide}

\section{Ion beam synthesis of cubic silicon carbide}

\section{Assumed precipitation mechanism of cubic silicon carbide in silicon}
\label{section:assumed_prec}

\section{Substoichiometric concentrations of carbon in crystalline silicon}

